Student Art Part 1: Art for a Poster - 700 pieces to choose from.

I'm a Volunteer Chair for the Art Committee at our local Elementary school.
The next few weeks will be quite busy as I help get ready for the Annual Student Show. The entire process is a lot of work, but incredibly creative too. I'd like to share what goes on behind the scenes of hosting an art show for over 450 families and the community at large.

Of all the tasks to do, there are two that are particularly fun for me.

1) Creating bulletin boards for the School.
2) Designing the Art Show Poster.

IT ALL BEGINS THE YEAR BEFORE...
Each year during Duniway's Annual Student Art Exhibit, several pieces of student work are selected as possible poster candidates for the next year. It's a tough decision, since there are usually 700 pieces of student work to choose from. Selections are based on personal impressions, and some general guidelines:

a) Will it look good in a poster format - 11X17" vertical?
b) Is it a good representation of the art lesson it was based upon?
c) Is it visually bold enough to draw viewers attention from 3 feet away?
d) Is it interesting to look at? Good use of color, balance and proportion?
e) Will it serve as a good showcase piece for the Duniway Art Program?

Once the initial set of poster candidates are selected, a bulletin board is created to display them in the main hallway of the school. Everyday, students, faculty and Duniway parents can see them.


Each piece is given a number, and all the students of the school are invited to vote for their favorite.


Votes are collected in a box during library time.


After two weeks, votes are tallied, and the winner is announced.

In this case, the winning piece was created by a 4th grade student who painted in the style of Pablo Picasso.




This is Michelle Smit. She's the mom who wrote the lesson plan about Pablo Picasso. She has written a lot of lessons for our Art Program at Duniway.


(this photo was taken by Christine Claringbold of www.EyePopArt.com).

To learn more about Duniway, click here Duniway Website

Christine Claringbold, a past Duniway parent, wrote an excellent article on how to start your own art program at your school. To read more:
click here